Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 51
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
एकैव हि भवेद् भार्या वैश्यस्य कुरुनन्दन । द्वितीया तु भवेत् शूद्रा न तु दृष्टान्ततः स्मृता
ekaiva hi bhaved bhāryā vaiśyasya kurunandana | dvitīyā tu bhavec chūdrā na tu dṛṣṭāntataḥ smṛtā ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Oh alegría de los Kurus, para un vaiśya debe haber una sola esposa legítima: una tomada de la clase vaiśya. Una segunda esposa puede, en efecto, ser una mujer śūdrā; pero la tradición no lo sostiene como modelo sancionado ni como precedente ejemplar.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma states a normative rule: a Vaiśya’s proper, dharmic wife is one from the same varṇa; while a second union with a Śūdrā woman is mentioned as a possibility, it is not presented as an approved exemplar grounded in authoritative tradition (smṛti/dṛṣṭānta).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is advising Yudhiṣṭhira about social and marital norms, distinguishing between what is considered fully sanctioned practice and what is merely reported without being upheld as a model precedent.